National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-existence launched

Thursday, 1 March 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Government on Tuesday launched the first ever National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-existence to promote greater unity in the country.

The launch presided by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe coincided with the screening of the film ‘Thundenek’ produced by the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation.

The Office for National Unity and Reconciliation headed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga prepared this National Policy, fulfilling the need for a comprehensive national policy which emphasises the need of reconciliation.

This policy statement was presented to President Sirisena by the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) Director M. S. Jayasinghe.

The National Policy for Reconciliation and Public Co- Existence has been drafted taking into consideration the destruction and damage caused to the society, security and reputation of all citizens of Sri Lanka, due to the socio- economic unrest, including the war and conflict that lasted three decades, and with the fullest commitment of the Government to ensure that such conflicts would not occur again. The policy is based on futuristic principles for reconciliation with multiple approaches, under democracy, good governance, rights to language and cultural heredity, guarantee and respect for human rights, authority of law, national unity and diversity.

Addressing the launch President Sirisena said all must unite together to conquer the challenges against the peace and reconciliation.

He pointed out that the reconciliation is a spiritual philosophy, and in a society where spiritual values are not considered, it is challenging to achieve targets sets in this regard. He further said that it is the responsibility of all to fulfil respective duties towards achieving this target.

The film ‘Thundenek’ co-directed by Prasanna Vithanage, Vimukthi Jayasundara, and Asoka Handagama exhibits the tragedy of the humankind going through the unrest caused by war and conflicts that lasted 30 years.

The film is composed of three inter-connected short stories with three parts. The film depicts the pain and sheer terror of the individuals living today, memorialising the lost members of families and the terrifying experiences they had to undergo due to the war.

The film expects to give a message to the society by depicting the aftershock caused during the war as well as trauma after the war was over, loss of family members, pain and suffering caused by the war, as well as emphasising the imperative need to build a country where all Sri Lankans live in peace and harmony.